This Week's Food

Buying Mycoterra mushrooms keeps your dollar local and supports local farming and sustainability. Mycoterra mushrooms are handcrafted in small batches and picked fresh for delivery.  We strive to leave the planet better than we found it.  Using agricultural and forestry byproducts as our primary growing mediums, our natural methods of production accelerate decomposition, building soil and cycling nutrients – critical processes for healthy ecosystems.  We use our exhausted substrates as soil amendments on our farm to help restore an old gravel bank, prevent erosion and to build organic matter in our annual and perennial garden beds."

Did you catch all that? Science! Saving the planet one shroom at a time. Nerds with a mission! 
Eat up, friends!

Also, in this week's edition of "Don't Throw that Away I'll Eat it"- Salmon Collars. It's the first time we have brought these to you in the share and we are so excited for you to try them. Bon Appetit Magazine calls them the Spare Ribs of the ocean and they are glorious.

"Grace Hill Farm is run by Max and Amy Breiteneicher. The vision for our farm grew naturally out of our shared interests and values – a love of good food and a desire to produce food that is delicious and made with integrity; a love of nature and of living and working closely with animals and the land; and of course, Max’s great passion for cheese. Max is blessed to have been taught cheesemaking and animal husbandry over the years by a series of true professionals at Jasper Hill Farm, Chase Hill Farm, and Sidehill Farm.

After many years of searching for just the right spot, we were so lucky to finally find it here in Cummington. Our land belonged to the Dawes/Thayer family since the 1700’s, passed down through the generations until they were so kind as to sell it to us in 2012. It has been a sheep farm and a dairy farm within living memory, and the old stone walls running through our woods attest to the pasture that used to be everywhere. We are honored to be stewards of this beautiful land, and are grateful for the opportunity to revitalize and restore this old New England farm."

One of the very best parts of this job, beyond the weekly cornucopia of delicious goodies, is the people you meet. The amazing customers, talented farmers and the incredible, mission-driven colleagues in the field.  In the latter category Pan Denholm, of South Shore Organics, is the top of the class.
 
Pam started South Shore Organics in 2010, when Farmers' Markets were starting to take off and CSA's were gaining in popularity. Her aim was to provide the missing link for busy families: connection to local growers and purveyors through a convenient delivery. Pam wanted to develop a service that supported her community, but was scaleable. Farmers markets served immediate neighborhoods, CSA's relied on meeting at drop points, but with Pam anybody on the South Shore could get a delivery. (Sound familiar, Family Dinnerists?) This service was scaled over time, bringing delicious food to thousands of doorsteps. It became a year-round sustainable, reliable support for local growers who could not only plan their seasons, but find way to extend them into the off season.
 
Sadly, as many of you know, South Shore Organics closed its doors at the end of March. Their last delivery was March 23^rd, but their impact will be felt much longer. In Pam’s tenure SSO made over 100,000 deliveries, spent over $1.5M at local farms and donated over 50,000 pounds of produce to food pantries. Hers is an extraordinary contribution to the causes of farmers, environmentalists and fervent foodies alike.
 
Pam’s vision and her commitment to supporting local farmers is inspiring. We are humbled and proud to be working with her and her dedicated customers to bring Family Dinner to the South Shore. We hope to continue her mission and make her proud!

To our new South Shore Customers, welcome to Family Dinner. We are so happy to have you!